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President Obama to propose $45 million increase to protect global health

President Obama will propose an additional $45 million in his 2015 budget to improve global health, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said on Thursday.

Sebelius made the remarks during a discussion about the Global Health Security Agenda on Thursday at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington. She said global health is one of Obama's top priorities. The president's Global Health Security Agenda revolves around enhanced prevention of infectious disease threats, more robust detection and more effective response.

"Working together across at least 30 countries, we can protect at least four billion global citizens within the next five years," Sebelius said.

Sebelius said this is an important start, but the Obama administration wants to protect all people in all countries against the threats posed by infectious disease. She said the administration's vision will be advanced by bringing more nations into the fold and increasing funding to protect people against disease worldwide.

"To advance President Obama's vision, in 2013, we worked with Uganda and Vietnam and demonstrated that rapid progress is possible around our three primary strategies," Sebelius said. "To make further progress, this year (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) will partner with the Department of Defense to commit $40 million to 10 countries. And in President Obama's 2015 budget, he will propose an additional ($45 million) to help protect even more people around the world."

Sebelius said the world has a historic opportunity to partner together to address potentially harmful connections that spread infections across national borders.

"We are well aware that ridding the world of infectious diseases is not a small goal," Sebelius said. "There are few simple solutions and no magic cures, but we can't afford the cost of defeat-economically, socially, or in the devastating loss of lives."